


Five Years and Other Gifts

by LadyStardust



Series: Apartment-verse [17]
Category: Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Apartment-verse, Apartmentverse, F/M, Some blood and gore, and ridiculous love, daring heroics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-28 08:03:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19808134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyStardust/pseuds/LadyStardust
Summary: In which Sarah does the thing she does best.  Is it thievery? Books? Knives? Storming the castle?  Jareth sleeps on the job.





	Five Years and Other Gifts

Sarah paced back and forth in her kitchen, shooting furtive glances at the mirror every few minutes. It had been ten days and she’d heard neither hide nor hair of Jareth or for that matter, any of her friends. She had gone passed the point of being a bit annoyed, skated right on through pissed off, and was now firmly in the worried sick territory. Ten days was too long. Three days? Sure, not uncommon, Jareth had a whole kingdom to run after all and he didn’t always like having to get up early with her when she went to work during the week. Mostly because she was a nightmare at 7am in the winter when the goddamn sun wasn’t even up but she was…but ten days? No. Seven days she figured he was angry at her about something and was sulking, so she had tried to go drag him out from whatever gloom cloud was currently thundering over his head. But to her surprise the mirror had become just a mirror. It hadn’t denied her access for ages now, not since she had accepted the role the Underground played in her life. She’d called for her friends, something she hardly ever did anymore as her open door policy meant she usually just had to wait for her friends to show up. Nothing. Not even an audio response which she’d got last time the portals were weak and her friends couldn’t come through.

Three more days of debating and worry and she was really starting to panic. She didn’t know of any other portals Underground, but she knew there were a couple relatively nearby. Jareth had mentioned them to her before, although he’d never actually said where they were, or even what they looked like. Sir Didymus had said once travel wasn’t restricted to reflective surfaces although she had no idea what that actually meant. Jareth had once said that most of the portals nearby did go to his kingdom as he’d established himself as being accessible for the area.

Sarah decided that the best thing to do was get out into the city, and hope that she could find the portals on her own. She’d been able to sense magic before, she could feel the different signatures and styles of it at the very least. Sarah had tested this ability out a few times before, just small stuff like being able to notice when a goblin followed her to work before the copy machine started spitting out very odd looking butt prints, or that Jareth had gone to the Starbucks on this corner instead of the one on that corner. Simple stuff that just asked her to be more plugged in to the world around her. Jareth had mentioned that people sensitive to magic could sometimes feel the portals, including the one in her kitchen, but that the scent was usually so faint that unless you knew where to look, you wouldn’t be able to notice it. But if her friends and boyfriend were in danger, and Sarah’s instincts were telling her that they were, she was prepared to walk the whole damn city if she had to.

She grabbed her biggest tote bag and began throwing a couple of things in there. Some energy bars and a couple bottles of water, along with a blanket and, reluctantly, the switchblade her father had given her when she moved to the city. A ridiculous gift she’d thrown in the drawer, assuming she’d never use it. Mostly because with Jareth around, she was rarely in any real danger and also because her life wasn’t worth her wallet if she was being mugged.

She was looking around for her scarf behind the couch when she found a little goblin, crouched down and sleeping. Sarah was relatively surprised to see him, she had no idea he had been here this whole time, just napping behind the sofa. She gingerly nudged him awake and the goblin came back to life slowly, as though it had been sleeping for a very long time. Sarah knew the goblins could hibernate if they wanted to, she just didn’t think they were doing it in her apartment.

“Hey little buddy,” she said gently to the goblin. “Can you tell me your name? How long have you been asleep here?”

“Poko lady,” the goblin said sleepily. “No know how long I’s been here. Long. Couldn’t get home. Got sleepy. Sleeped.”

“Hmm, okay then so it sounds like you’ve been here for at least a couple of days,” Sarah said considering the situation. So it wasn’t just her that couldn’t get through, even the goblins were having trouble and she’d never heard of that happening before. This goblin was small though and Sarah had a hard rule about them never leaving the apartment (though some of them still tried it occasionally) so she thought it likely Poko hadn’t bothered to try the other portals.

“Poko,” she asked the goblin. “Do you know where any other portals might be nearby?”

The goblin nodded his head enthusiastically. “Oh yes lady, there’s one down by bridge. It big, it where the water horses go.”

“Okay,” Sarah said, grabbing her scarf, “then that’s where we need to go. Do you know what the portal looks like Poko?”

“No lady,” the goblin shook his head. “I only ever come see you.”

Sarah smiled warmly at Poko, the goblins were definitely a handful but she loved them all. She’d gotten used to having them around, it was like having a bunch of drunk talking cats. Jareth refused to let them in the bed, but when he wasn’t around she’d often wake up to find a goblin sleeping at her feet or hiding out under the dust ruffle.

“Alright then this can be the first chapter of the Poko and Sarah adventures, hop into my tote and we’ll see if we can’t tag team this problem,” she said as the goblin snuggled up happily under her blanket and scarf.

* * *

Sarah luckily knew what bridge Poko had been talking about. It was going to be one of the first places she checked anyways because the entire place had always felt off to her. Like there was something there. When she was younger she’d chalked it up to the fact that it was in one of the more run-down areas of the city and there was a decent amount of crime that took place under that bridge. She never spent too much time in the area so she’d never picked up on any magic but it had always been a question in her mind.

She opted to walk towards the bridge just in case she caught a hint of a different, closer portal on the way. Sarah was trying to be conscious of how long it had been. Ten days was long enough that something could have gone really wrong and the idea that she was already too late - an unproductive thought. She couldn’t start thinking like that otherwise she’d start panicking properly and nobody had time for that.

Even when they weren’t together, Jareth so rarely went this long without seeing her. She’d be thrilled to discover he was just visiting some foreign territory again and had just forgotten to tell her, or even if he’d finally managed to get her Netflix working Underground and had just gotten too into binge watching. Anything would be better than the obvious conclusion which was that Jareth would never abandon her ... unless something or someone had a hold on him.

Sarah stopped, hesitating. They were still a couple blocks from the bridge but what she’d been feeling for a while now had gotten stronger. Really strong. The same way it’d felt when she’d been standing outside those college kids’ door. Sarah felt magic and this was strong and strange. It smelled like neither Jareth nor the scent of human magic that Jareth had explained last time.

It felt like a tree branch breaking, like the feeling of a dropped glass, or a knock on the door in the middle of the night. It was both ordinary and out of the ordinary and it was coming directly from the bungalow she was standing in front of.

“Poko,” she said quietly to the little goblin in her bag. “I think something’s in there.”

The goblin stuck his head out and nodded emphatically. “Smells like magic.” He affirmed.

“Yeah but it’s weird,” Sarah said furrowing her brow. “It doesn’t feel human but it doesn’t feel like Jareth or you guys either.”

Poko gave a little shrug. “Knock on door?”

“Seems like the thing to do doesn’t it,” Sarah agreed. “But stay hidden okay? And if anyone asks you’re a dog got it?”

“Dog,” Poko said nodding, ducking his head back under her scarf.

Sarah hesitantly walked up the front steps. Everything about this bungalow looked unremarkable. The grass was due for a cut and the steps had been well worn down by weather. The front door had an old decal peeling off the glass and the blinds were completely shuttered. There was a faded welcome mat that asked her to remove her shoes. Sarah gave a quick rap on the door, worst case she’d just say she had the wrong house.

She wasn’t sure who she was expecting to open the door but the lady in her early fifties who answered wasn’t exactly her first thought. The woman was dressed just like she’d expect her parent’s friends to be dressed. She had a plain sweater tucked into a pair of very old high rise jeans. The knees were clearly well faded from wear, and the hems dragged on the ground, ratty from being walked on so many times. Her hair was kept in a headscarf, and in her hands was an old dish towel and a plate.

“Can I help you?” She asked gruffly.

“Uh,” Sarah hesitated. She still smelled the magic, but this woman looked for all intents and purposes, like just an ordinary middle-aged woman.

“Yes?” The woman pressed. “You knocked on my door. What do you want?”

“I’m sorry,” Sarah said backing off, “I must have made a mistake.”

The woman was about to close the door in their faces when Poko popped his head out from her purse.

“Dog!” He said proudly. “I’m a dog!”

Sarah quickly tried to shove him back down in her bag in a panic. Crap, crap, crap, without Jareth to alter their memories, there was literally no way to explain the talking dog in her purse. She wondered if maybe the woman would be willing to believe he was a very sophisticated robot. But she needn’t have worried. The woman looked relatively nonplussed and had opened the door wide again.

“No you’re not,” the woman said setting her plate down. “You’re a goblin and you’d better come in before anyone else sees you.”

“Uh,” Sarah said again, stepping over the threshold.

“Do you speak girl?” The woman snapped at her, closing the door behind her. “Or has something touched your tongue that you can only mutter half sentences and grunts?”

“Hey!” Sarah replied, crossing her arms. “Sorry I’m a bit surprised to find that someone else in this city knows what a goblin is and is willing to let one of them in their home. Especially after knowing what a goblin is.”

The woman waved her off. “Come on,” she said and began walking down the stairs to what was, presumably, her basement. “And take off your shoes!” She called before Sarah could take a foot off the mat.

Sarah took a quick look around the home. The living room looked like it had last been updated in 1991 and everything was in shades of pastels. Except for the carpet which was probably once beige but was now mostly a series of stains weaved together. The TV was blasting some afternoon talk show and Sarah spied a cat lounging by the window, eyeing one of the dying houseplants.

“I’m going to get murdered in that basement aren’t I?” She said quietly.

Poko stuck his head out and nodded again.

“Great great great,” muttered taking off her shoes and following the lady down the stairs. “Fucking Jareth, I swear if he’s just been holed up marathoning Game of Thrones again I’m going to kill him.”

The basement had stacks of clutter everywhere. Old books and records, papers and technology that hadn’t been modern for decades now. Copies of Time, and Life magazines were everywhere along with some jars of preserves Sarah saw lined on the walls. The only thing she didn’t see was the woman.

“Come on,” the woman ducked her head out from behind a wall of clutter.

“Okay,” Sarah said sighing. “In for a penny I guess.”

She followed the woman behind the clutter and Sarah was surprised to see another door. It was mostly obscured by the large piles of things and a couple broken jars were scattered in front of it. The woman stepped on the glass with her bare feet as though it wasn’t there at all. It was clearly some sort of spell.

Sarah wasn’t sure the same luxury would be afforded to her so she carefully stepped around it and slid into the second room. She could barely keep her jaw off the ground when she saw what the woman had hidden behind this door.

It looked remarkably like a room in Jareth’s castle. The walls were lined with more jars, but this time Sarah knew their contents were not of Aboveground provenance, and some of them were moving. There were several bookshelves all lined with different tomes in languages Sarah didn’t speak. A few English spines caught her eye and some Arabic texts in there as well, but she also noticed a number of them with the same symbols attributed to languages she knew were only spoken Underground.

There was a large fireplace and a couple of cooking pots were scattered around. A picnic table sat in the middle of the room with several mugs piled on top of it. A couple of comfy armchairs were tucked into the corner and there was a small television mounted on the ceiling.

“Whoa,” she said looking around. “Who the hell are you and what is this place?”

“You can call me Annie,” the woman replied. “This is my home.”

“Yep,” Sarah said nodding. “Cool, so say Annie - you human?”

“Yes,” Annie said simply, plopping herself down in one of the armchairs. She gestured for Sarah to do the same. Sarah carefully moved a couple books off one of the chairs and sat down. The books felt warm to her touch and the one on top looked troublingly familiar.

“Are you a witch?” Sarah asked, deliberately pulling her eyes away from the book.

“No,” the woman said with a scoff. “Not really. I don’t do magic.”

“So then all this,” Sarah said gesturing around the room. “Is just for what? The aesthetic?”

“No,” the woman said with a shrug. “It doesn’t cost to create as long as you know what the price is. I do a bit of homebrewing here and there but the magic doesn’t come from me. It comes from the items I collect. Items I collect and sell at a very reasonable price mind.”

“Okay,” Sarah said nodding, glancing at the stack of books again. She had remembered where she’d seen it before, it looked identical to the one Jareth had taken from the coven. “So then you’re a scavenger.”

“Whatever you like,” Annie said with a shrug. “I provide a service, people pay me for it. The rest is of no concern to me.”

“You shouldn’t be selling these,” Sarah said holding up the book. “They’re dangerous, really dangerous, and most humans don’t understand how this stuff works.”

Annie rolled her eyes and grabbed a plate of grey baked goods, thrusting them towards Sarah.

“Tell your little goblin friend who’s not a dog to eat one of these. They’ll make him feel better.”

“I’m not letting him eat anything until I know more about what’s going on here,” Sarah replied, giving Poko a look that said ‘absolutely do not touch’. It was a look her goblins knew well by now.

“Oh please,” the woman said, dropping the plate on the table. “All I have to do to take him out is give him a good smack with one of these rings,” she said holding up her hands and Sarah noticed several heavy iron rings there. “I don’t bother feeding those I’m going to kill. It’s my own recipe. Helps with the iron sickness.”

Sarah hesitated a moment but she knew Poko wasn’t doing super great. Goblins started suffering from iron sickness if they spent too long Aboveground. After a few hours they started getting weaker. She’d never seen the full effects before, but given that Poko had probably been in her apartment a few days and she’d seen neither hide nor hair of him told her that it was likely due to him not having the strength to cause the usual goblin ruckus. Not to mention he’d been perfectly content to be carried around in her purse and didn’t even make a pass at any of the food or chapsticks in there. Not good.

“Okay Poko,” Sarah said carefully. “Go ahead.”

The little goblin held out his hand and Sarah gingerly placed one of the cookies in it. Poko gobbled it up immediately and Sarah noticed he perked up considerably. Some of the brightness returned to his eyes and he started nattering away at her again thanking her and the other nice lady.

“It won’t work for long,” Annie said. “It’s a band-aid not a cure. But if you don’t want your friend there to fade into nothing you’ll get him home. They’re not pets you know.”

“Hey I know!” Sarah replied indignant again. “I’m trying to get him home. Trying to get us both there actually but my portal is down.”

“Ah so you were going to the bridge then,” Annie said. “That one’s down too. All of them are down. Figured that’s why you’re here. Gonna piggyback off mine.”

“You have your own portal? Seriously who the hell are you?” Sarah said, completely gobsmacked by this turn of events.

“Already told you,” Annie replied getting up to move some of the books to show an old vanity mirror. “I’m Annie.”

“Not the answer I was looking for,” Sarah replied, giving Poko another cookie. “You know exactly what I’m asking. I’m also pretty sure you know who I am since you haven’t bothered to ask me any questions about why I seem to know what a goblin is or how I ended up at your house. So seriously Annie, who are you?”

Annie smiled and turned to face her before giving a short little laugh and moving to continue shifting around the books. With her back turned Sarah took the opportunity to slide the book she’d previously been eyeing in her purse. She gave Poko a look and the little goblin nodded in understanding.

“Yes, of course I know who you are Labyrinth champion.”

“Oh geez,” Sarah said running a hand through her hair. “I haven’t been called that in years.”

“Well then will Sarah do?” Annie said somewhat more warmly.

“Sarah is fine,” she replied.

“So Sarah,” Annie said, plopping back down into her armchair. “We meet at last. I’m Annie, I’ve lived in this house for over a hundred years and yes, you heard that right. I’m still human, just one with a bit of an extended lifespan shall we say. I’ve always been particularly sensitive to magic, and realized that with a bit of research and the right tutor, I might be able to use that to my advantage.”

“Extended lifespan?” Sarah asked with a raised brow. This was the first she’d heard of anything like that outside of Tir Na Nog and she was a little surprised Jareth hadn’t brought it up if it was an option.

“Mmm,” Annie said, grabbing a soda from the mini fridge she had underneath the picnic table. “If you imagine the human life like a string, I just pulled it taut. Tricky business, very difficult, and if you have any intention of doing anything like say, having kids, or want to change your appearance in any meaningful way - not an option.”

“Oh,” Sarah said, understanding. “So it’s like you hit the pause button.”

“Hardly,” Annie said with a derisive snort. “I still age. Slower yes, but it’s not like I’ve looked like this forever. Time comes for all of us, unless we throw ourselves in with their lot.

Sarah knew exactly which “lot” Annie was referring to.

“Goblins, and other small creatures are always falling through my portal,” she continued. “I picked this mirror up at an old estate sale after I realized what it was. Seemed better off in my hands than someone who didn’t know what it could do. I usually give them a cookie and send them back on through. I might pitch in and monitor the bridge portal during the big holidays when the damn thing start going haywire every freaking year. Usually he’s pretty good about paying for my services so I don’t mind helping the Goblin King out every so often.”

“Jareth,” Sarah said with a nod. “Yeah he’s big on that. He likes his fun but I know the well being of his kingdom comes first.”

“You still keep in contact with the Goblin King then?” Annie said, surprised. “I would have thought neither of you would want anything to do with the other.”

“Uhhhh, it kinda went the opposite of that actually,” she replied tugging on a strand of her hair. “He’s my boyfriend, or partner. Whatever you want to call it. He also hasn’t been answering any messages for several days now and all the portals seem to have crapped out. I can’t manage to reach my other friends either and Poko has been stranded in my apartment. I’m trying to get Underground so I can figure out what the hell is going on because honestly, I’m worried.”

She may as well have not bothered after she said the word boyfriend as the dark look that came over Annie’s face told her that the woman stopped listening exactly then.

“You’re an idiot,” Annie hissed at her. “What kind of utter moron says ‘oh yes something all powerful and immortal who can end my life with a flick of his wrist and for whom I’m no more than a passing hobby or best case, a pet, let me fall in love with that. That’ll end well.’ Nobody because nobody is as stupid as you.”

“Oh my god,” Sarah said rolling her eyes. “Lady, you are seriously like several chapters behind here. I already did all that soul searching and self-loathing, don’t worry I more than have it covered. I could not care less about your value judgements on my relationship. I don’t expect you to understand that this is different because that sounds like the kind of thing a 16 year old mermaid might say before trading her voice to a sea witch for a dude she saw from the side of a boat. But I need to use your portal to make sure Jareth isn’t lying dead in a ditch somewhere Underground. You gonna let me or am I gonna have to do something stupid?”

“You think I haven’t been where you’re sitting,” Annie said with a sharp laugh. “Oh I thought I had all the answers when I was your age too. They’re very good at manipulation his lot and you need to be asking yourself whether a king might be just a touch more skilled at it than the average faerie fop. You’re not better or smarter than all the other women who came before you. The path you walk is on the backs of their broken bodies Sarah.”

“I never said I was better or smarter,” Sarah said standing up. “I said I’m getting my damn boyfriend back one way or another. Yeah maybe this will kill me. But if you’ve been where I am before then you know that it’s already way too late to back away now. So I guess I’ll either join those bodies, or I get to continue to spend my Saturday mornings doing the crossword in bed with the man I love. I’m all in on this one so do you want me dead now or later? Cause it’s sounding like you’re gunning for now over here.”

“He does the crossword with you in bed?” Annie said with surprise.

“Not really,” Sarah said, rolling her eyes again. “It’s mostly just a lot of us arguing over the answers. He thinks he’s so clever but I’ll tell you right now it was Jack Nicholson in Easy Rider and not Nicolas Jackman who isn’t even a real friggin person and ugh! I need to get him back because I refuse to let him die thinking he was right about that.”

“Oh no,” Annie sighed. “You _are_ in love with him.”

“Yes,” Sarah said exasperated. “I said that minute ago. It’s clearly too late for me as there’s literally no coming back from Nicolas Jackman levels of love.”

“No there is not,” Annie said with a shrug. “Well I don’t care, it’s your funeral. I wouldn’t have minded having another magic tinted human in the city. I haven’t had a proper vacation in years babysitting all these portals but what can you do. Give it your best shot getting through that, I’ve never sent anything bigger than a dwarf through so no idea if it’ll work. Though they always jump so you’ll probably have to run and dive for it. Take the cookies with you in case you get stuck. They’ll keep the little one going.”

“Thanks,” Sarah said gratefully dumping the rest of the cookies in her thankfully, large tote bag. “I’m not going to die though, and when I get this all sorted out I’ll make sure Jareth and I watch your portals sometime for you so you can take a break. A hundred years is a long time.”

“So you say,” Annie muttered. She waved her hand in front of the mirror. “Now get on with it before I change my mind and decide you’re better off with me locking you out.”

Sarah gave her neck a quick crack and stretched out her arm. It wasn’t a large mirror so it was going to be a tight fit. She’d been able to go back and forth with ease for a while now, more so than when she and Jareth were just getting to know each other. But each portal had its own weird rules and if this one’s was jumping, well, she just hoped she didn’t miss.

She closed her eyes and made a run for it. She just managed to catch Annie telling her good luck before she felt all the air leave her lungs and an icy whiteness overtook her. It was only a split second but then suddenly, she was Underground and not just anywhere. She was falling down the tunnel straight into the oubliette. She hit the ground with a thud, but the landing was still softer than she expected.

“Ow,” she muttered, looking at her scraped up hands and knees. She’d managed to break her fall slightly at their expense.

“Home!” Poko cried happily jumping out of her bag. “Home, home, home,” he cried running around the oubliette.

“Yes home,” Sarah replied, looking around to see if she could find the door on the ground somewhere. Hoggle had shown her that trick once, she hoped it still worked. Mostly though she hoped the cleaners were out today as that was really the last thing she wanted to deal with right now.

She spotted it lying on its side some feet away. Sarah had to try it a couple of times before it worked, but she found when she thought about where she wanted the door to go she was able to manage it. The door, thankfully, didn’t take her into the tunnels. Instead it let her into another, smaller, room with a ladder leading up. She had Poko climb back into her bag as she climbed out.

* * *

The Labyrinth knew who she was. It seemed to almost be expecting her. Otherwise the situation was much more dire than she’d previously thought as she moved effortlessly through the stones. She didn’t remember the way to the castle, how could she? It was over a decade ago and while she still intended to do a bit of rescuing, she didn’t have the help of her friends to guide her.

The sky remained resolute in its blackness and the only light she had was from her phone as she walked. She decided not to think too hard about whether she was going in the right direction. She could feel the Labyrinth shifting and moving underneath her feet and the dark outline of the castle was undeniably coming closer. There was a small, faint light, in one of the upper windows, and Sarah used it to lead her to the center.

Every step she took she became more and more worried. There wasn’t a single goblin or creature in sight. When she reached the Goblin City, Humongous was laid on his side, unmoving and still. The gates were wide open and Sarah was able to walk right through. Poko shivered in her purse and she reached over to ruffle the little Goblin’s fur in comfort.

“I know Poko, I don’t like it either,” she whispered.

“They’s hiding,” Poko said, pointing to a pair of quickly vanishing eyes in the window of one of the huts.

“Why?” Sarah asked Poko, not bothering to stop. She felt confident that whatever was happening, well, it didn’t matter, she had to see Jareth before doing anything else. She had to make sure he was alright.

“Scared,” Poko said with a shrug.

“Well Poko,” Sarah replied. “I’m not going to tell you I’m not scared because I am. But I will tell you that I’m going to do everything in my power to fix whatever has happened here. I’m not going to let you down.”

Poko shook his head. “Not me, Poko not scared.”

“Oh really?” Sarah said, giving the goblin a wry smile. “And why is that?”

The goblin shrugged. “With you.”

Sarah smiled bigger and gave the goblin’s fur another reassuring pat. “Thanks Poko.”

They reached the doors of the castle beyond the Goblin City, and Sarah was dismayed to see they too, were thrown open, as if just waiting for anyone to walk right through them. Sarah didn’t hesitate and began to walk faster, sure that Jareth had to be in the one room that was lit. As she rushed through, the doors slammed behind her and Sarah heard them lock into place. There was once a time that would have made her pause, but she was single minded in her goal. If Jareth was here, it didn’t really matter if she couldn’t get out again.

Sarah took the main staircase and kept walking upwards until she reached the final landing to Jareth’s bedroom. When she walked through the door, she wasn’t expecting to find Jareth as she normally did when she paid him a visit. Sitting by his fire, drinking a cup of wine, doing some work. In fact, she’d be downright angry if he turned up perfectly fine after all she went through to get here.

But when she saw him, she wished she felt angry instead of the deep, bone chilling fear that ran through her.

Jareth was lying motionless in his bed. His skin was a deathly grey and his hair, the hair she so loved to tease him about, looked brittle and dull. His eyes were closed and sunken looking, and his lips chapped and dry. There were several sets of crumpled bed sheets in the corner covered in blood and a bandage reached from the wrist of his right hand to wrap around his shoulder.

“Oh my god,” Sarah said, feeling like the world had just been dropped from under her.

“My lady!” The little fox that had been sitting by Jareth’s bedside, holding his gloved hand looked up, clearly surprised to see her there.

“Sir Didymus!” Sarah cried in relief, she ran over and wrapped her friend in a hug they both so desperately needed. “I have never been so glad to see you.”

“Nor I my lady,” he replied softly. “Though I must ask - how did you get here? His Majesty made sure that you were kept safe and secure in your home.”

“Well that was stupid of him,” Sarah said with a sad smile. “He had to know I’d come looking for you guys. Locking me out of my mirror slowed me down, but it was never going to stop me. Hell, I was prepared to buy a one way ticket to the islands and use the First Portal if I had to.”

“Yes, he did rather think you might,” Sir Didymus said, smiling wanly. “I’m afraid it’s not good my lady.”

Poko took the opportunity to dart out of the bag and ran to hide behind Sir Didymus. If he wasn’t scared before, he certainly was now. Sarah couldn’t blame him, she was terrified.

“Please tell me what happened,” she said, taking Jareth’s hand in hers. Even with the glove, he was as cold as ice, and Sarah shivered.

“There was a battle, and my King fought bravely!” The fox said, baring his teeth in pride. “The treacherous Winter Queen attacked without warning, attempting to annex the northern colonies into her empire. Colonies home to thousands of Goblins and other members of the Goblin Kingdom. His highness could not let such a disgusting attack go unchallenged and he marched into battle with his considerable army.”

“His Majesty won and the Winter Queen’s soldiers turned tail when faced with the wrath of the Goblin King, as they should,” Sir Didymus said puffing up. “I myself was placed on the front lines, in direct position alongside the King and so, you see, I was there when it happened,” he finished quietly.

“The King was struck by an arrow of pure iron. Such weapons are illegal outside of the High Court, the filthy scoundrels. The arrow cut clean through his majesty’s shoulder, imbedding itself in the skin and the poison began to take quickly,” Sir Didymus took her free hand in his paws and Sarah looked into the old fox’s concerned eyes. “Sarah, I have done all I can for him. Even the lights in the kingdom have died, they cannot be lit without the magic of the Goblin Throne. The portals won’t work without the king’s magic and the Goblins have gone into hiding. The Labyrinth is crumbling without him, and soon this castle will come to ruin too. I swore to stay by his side, and by his side I will remain until the very end.”

“Oh Sir Didymus,” Sarah said, giving the fox’s paws a squeeze. “No, I won’t let that happen. I _can’t_ let that happen.”

“I’m not sure what choice we have my lady,” the fox said, shaking his head. “The King is the strongest magical being in the Goblin Kingdom. The High King might be able to heal him, but they will not reach him in time. I also cannot be sure they would come as the Goblin Kingdom is not well loved in the Higher Realms. In the end I suppose, the Winter Queen got what she wanted.”

“No! There has to be another way. I’m not going to sit by and watch as he dies and this place falls apart. Not now, not after everything,” she said resolutely. She pulled two of Annie’s biscuits from her purse, along with the book she’d stolen. She’d reasoned it was for a greater good and she’d been right. But she really, _really_ hadn’t wanted to use it.

“I’m not going to let him die Sir Didymus,” she said flipping open the book. “I only just got him, I’m not going to lose him. He promised me forever and I don’t like people who break their promises.”

“My lady,” Sir Didymus replied carefully. “Is that the book I think it is?”

“That depends, what book do you think this is?” she said absently trying to find the right page. She’d know it when she saw it.

“One of the old mage’s texts. One for human magic, Sarah if the king has not told you already humans are not meant to perform magic. The spells take a piece of you that can never be returned! The more dangerous ones can stop your heart just by saying the words!” Sir Didymus said with great agitation.

“Well then it’s a good thing I’m picking probably the most dangerous one then,” she said, her eyes landing on the page. She knew this was the right spell. The book wanted her to use it, it was making it easy on her. The symbols and letters on the page rearranged themselves and made their meaning clear.

“My lady I beg of you,” Sir Didymus pleaded. “The king is lost. I cannot lose you too!”

“He’s not lost,” Sarah snapped, grabbing the blade she’d remembered to bring along. All human magic required blood he’d told her once. She hoped she had enough of it. “I don’t intend to die either, but this part is definitely going to suck.”

“You do not know what you’re doing, this is no child’s play,” he warned.

“Undress his wound!” She instructed Sir Didymus.

Sir Didymus did as she asked, quickly removing the bandages. When Sarah saw where the arrow had pierced him, she almost threw up. The skin surrounding it was black and dead, and a dark green liquid oozed around the edges of the wound, and seemed to seep from the inky blackness within. His entire right arm had begun to shrivel under the bandages and the darkness was clearly spreading outwards along the veins to his neck and chest.

“Just a stupid human girl,” she said muttering, taking the knife and reopening Jareth’s wound. “Just a stupid human girl doing the same thing every other stupid human girl has done. Rescuing their dumb magical boyfriend because that’s her job.”

“My lady,” Sir Didymus said carefully. “I ask you once again, please do not do this. You have no idea the consequences of your actions.”

“I do actually,” she said, trying to breathe through her nose as she cut away the dead flesh around his wound. “The consequence of me not doing this is that Jareth dies and that is the one price I am not willing to pay. Besides don’t you know how the stories go?”

“But this is not a story!” Her friend begged her.

“That’s your opinion,” she said carefully positioning the blade over her arm.

“Sarah!” Sir Didymus called. But he was too late. She sliced open her forearm from wrist to elbow without hesitation.

She threw her open wound over his and began to speak the words on the page. She could feel her blood begin to flow over his and her head started to swim. She kept speaking, being sure not to communicate clearly, making her want known. When she reached the end of the page, she felt incredibly warm all of a sudden, then with no warning, it shifted and she was freezing cold. She began to shiver and shake and the blood from her wound stopped suddenly.

“For I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the goblin city - to take back what is mine,” she muttered, letting the book fall from her lap. God, she was so tired all of a sudden. Tired and so, so cold.

“My lady,” Sir Didymus said shocked. “What did you do.”

Sarah didn’t respond, she couldn’t. The world had started to darken around the edges and her body felt stiff. She saw Poko standing at the edge of the bed, his eyes wide and mouth agape. Still she didn’t move her arm off his wound and instead took what little strength she still had to lay down alongside him.

“Wakey, wakey, Goblin King,” she said in a singsong voice. “For my will…is as strong…as yours and…and my kingdom…as great.”

“Sarah,” Sir Didymus said, grabbing the blanket to cover her freezing and shaking frame. “You should not have done that.”

She sloppily pulled the glove off of Jareth’s hand and entwined his fingers with hers. She was just able to make out Jareth’s eyes opening slowly and Sarah smiled. It had worked. No matter what happened now, it had worked. She’d saved him.

“No,” was the last thing she heard before she let the blackness claim her.

* * *

The first thing she heard was a rooster. It was also the second and third thing she heard because the damn bird wouldn’t shut up. Sarah wearily opened her eyes to glare out the window and was surprised to find herself Underground.

“Oh good you’re awake,” said Jareth, laying next to her. He put down the paper he’d been reading and peered at her over her glasses he was wearing. “Please say something so I know you haven’t gone mute.”

“What happened? Why am I in bed? And why are you wearing my glasses?”

“Ah well, I suppose that was too much to hope for,” he said raising an eyebrow in her direction. “I borrowed them because I am tired, having just been out of commission for a few days. You are in bed because you have done something incredibly foolish, as per usual. But really Sarah, this takes the cake.”

“Jerk,” she said trying to prop herself up on her elbows. She was surprised to see a long white scar down her arm. “Oh.”

“Yes, oh,” he said, setting her glasses down. “Do you remember now what happened?”

“Kind of,” she replied, trying to sort out her memories from the absolute pounding in her head. “I remember uh, cutting my arm open and doing a … little bit of magic.”

“A little bit,” he said with a scoff. “No Sarah, you did quite a _lot_ of magic. You’ve been asleep for four days.”

“What!?” She cried, before immediately regretting her choice in volume. She winced clutching her head. “Owww.”

Jareth sighed and pulled off the glove on his left hand. He gently laid his hand across Sarah’s brow and she felt her migraine lessen. Her head still hurt, but at least she could talk without wanting to upchuck everywhere.

Her eyes tracked down to his right hand. Someone had evidently redressed his wounds. The bandage no longer reached down to his wrist however, stopping at the elbow. The colour had likewise returned to his face and his hair had regained its brightness. Other than the bandages and his need for glasses, he looked like himself again.

“Your headache is your body’s way of telling you not to do anything that stupid ever again, along with this,” he said seriously. His hand trailed from her forehead to pull at a strand of hair. To Sarah’s shock, she saw it was completely white.

She swallowed thickly. The rest of her hair around her shoulders still appeared dark, except for that one streak of white. “What else,” she asked carefully, not daring to hope she’d get out of this with just some Tylenol and a box of Clairol.

“Five years,” Jareth said, his mouth tightening into a thin line. “You gave five years of your life in exchange for mine.”

“Oh is that all?” she said, relaxing back into her pillow. “That’s nothing.”

“It is not nothing!” Jareth thundered and Sarah recoiled. He never shouted at her. “How could you do that to yourself! There is nothing I can do to return those five years to you - nothing! They are gone forever, in the blink of some stupid, reckless, decision. That is five years sooner you’ll meet the grave and five years worth of living you’ve thrown away - for what Sarah?”

“Hey watch your tone with me!” She said as loudly as her head would let her. “I didn’t throw anything away. I traded it fair and square and they’re _my_ years to trade and for the record, I’d have traded ten, fifteen, even twenty years. So yeah, five seems like getting off pretty easy in the scheme of things.”

“Why,” he hissed, grabbing her scarred arm. He ran the tip of his index finger over the torn line and Sarah felt a tiny shiver go through her at his touch.

“I don’t want them,” she said quietly, not shying away from his gaze.

“Why,” he said again, quieter, his eyes searching her face.

“I won’t do it, do it Jareth I won’t!” she blurted out. “Without you...that’s five years I don’t want.”

Neither of them said anything for what seemed like forever. Jareth only looked at her. Sarah didn’t turn away. Before she wasn’t sure she would ever see those eyes again. The thought had been so horrible that it pushed her into action without stopping to think. The idea of never hearing him tease her, of not being able to wake up to his kisses on her shoulders. Of never having long debates about which Back to the Future movie was the best ever again. Or listening to him hum Candle in the Wind while he cooked her dinner. She was sure that’s why the spell worked. Because she was motivated by one singular, pure want, that eclipsed all her doubts and concerns. The need to see him smile at her again, the smile he reserved just for her. It was all she could think about as she read the lines from that book. It was what steadied her hand as she made the cut.

“Please smile,” she finally said quietly.

“What?” he replied, momentarily shaken out of his reverie.

“Please,” she said again, eyes tearing up from a combination of exhaustion and stress over the whole ordeal. She hated crying, she didn’t want to cry, but there was nothing she could do to stop it. “Please smile. I worked so hard, I just…I just want to see you smile.”

Jareth smiled at her softly and wrapped himself around her until she was cradled in his arms. She rested her head against his chest and just focused on listening to his heartbeat. She was trying in vain to stop her tears, sniffing loudly.

“There is nothing in this world more dangerous than a human girl. That book was written in a dead language you should never have been able to read it in the first place. Do you even know what spell that was? What magic you’ve done?” he spoke softly into her hair.

“I don’t know, it doesn’t matter. I just...knew which spell to use. What I had to do to save you - and it worked. It worked, so I don’t know and I don’t care,” she said.

“Sarah, I cannot live without you, stop making me think I might have to,” he said quietly.

“Yeah well that goes double for you,” she said between sniffles. “One of us sliced their arm open for the other. I’m basically one step away from boiling a rabbit over here. If I’ve proven anything, it’s that I’m a stage five clinger, and was always gonna hunt your ass down. You should have paid attention.”

“Yes,” he gave a kiss to the top of her head. “I suppose I should have. I knew there was a chance you’d find your way down here. Never did I think you’d attempt something so foolish and impossible as saving my life. Oh my beautiful impulsive girl, I was well prepared to die.”

“You really need to understand something,” she muttered, wiping her eyes on his robe. “We’re a team Jareth, you don’t abandon the team to go on a kamikaze shoot out. So I took a penalty and got you back on the ice, big deal, it’s what teammates do for each other.”

“Is this a sport metaphor?” he said with disdain. Sarah didn’t have to look at him to know he was wrinkling his nose.

“Yes because I just lost five years in four days and I’m really fucking tired from the whole saving-your-life thing so I go to the lowest denominator - hockey.”

“Bloody ridiculous sport, I much prefer chess.”

Sarah let out a laugh in spite of herself. “Oh don’t tell me, were you captain of the chess team in high school? Did all the boys pick on you for not knowing the difference between a touchdown and a field goal?”

“I didn’t go to high school Sarah,” he replied haughtily. “As you know, I was trained in my education by the highest caliber of tutors and governesses the Underground has to offer.”

“You’re such a loser,” she said kissing his chest. “I’m glad you didn’t die. Otherwise how would I ever make fun of you for calling chess a sport?”

“I didn’t say it was a sport, I just said I preferred it,” he corrected.

“Yeah well, still glad you’re alive,” she said, leaning up to give him a quick peck. “Also it’s not like Sir Didymus tried that hard to stop me. He didn’t call the guards or even try and pull the book away.”

“Sir Didymus can’t disobey you, I suppose he felt he had no choice but to honour your decision,” Jareth answered simply. “I don’t hold it against him.”

“Sir Didymus is a knight, he definitely could have called the guard, he said he was there on the battlefield with you.”

“Did you ever wonder where our friend came from? You’ve seen enough of faerie now to know he’s a rather unusual species even by their standards,” Jareth asked.

“What do you mean?”

“There’s a lot of pockets of the Goblin Kingdom that are filled with those of deeply mixed bloodlines, specifically from lower faerie. He has no “true” kingdom but the Goblin Kingdom and is considered a horrific mutt by most of faerie’s standards. He has no magic beyond his long life, he cannot even smell, the trait his closest faerie pureblood relative would be most famous for. Or I suppose I should say, what he associates as his closest pureblood relative, but I don’t think there’s any more evidence of that than any of the other 20 odd species in his genetic past. He is considered too small to be a real threat on the battlefields even as cannon fodder, which is what he’d be for his mixed blood alone,” he said, giving her a significant look.

“So you brought him alongside you because...you trust him?” she asked, confused.

“Those who come to me of their own free will are always my most loyal subjects. I can trust them to stand beside me. But outside of war, what job for the wayward knight with no magic, and no sense of smell? I was never punishing him by asking him to guard the bog, I was making him useful. What was normally a very difficult position to fill, Sir Didymus not only filled gladly, but it gave him a purpose. Then after you destroyed the bog, Sir Didymus gained a new purpose; you Sarah. He is my subject, but your servant. No Sarah, Sir Didymus _can’t_ disobey you,” Jareth finished seriously.

“Oh,” Sarah said. “I didn’t know.”

“I didn’t imagine it would change much,” Jareth said with a shrug.

“Kind of a terrible choice to have the one person who can’t disobey me guard your body,” Sarah pointed out, trying to lighten the mood.

“I...didn’t ask. Though I’d hardly say he’s the only one who cannot disobey you.” Jareth said, simply.

“Oh,” Sarah said, chewing on her bottom lip.

“What do you want to do now?” he asked her.

“I don’t know, I hadn’t really thought about it,” she said. “But honestly, I’m not sure I can get up right now, and something tells me you’re not as healed as you’re making yourself look.”

“I am perfectly capable,” he huffed, but Sarah had noticed how he winced when she pressed her head to his chest.

“Hmm, well I could use a glass of water and all the drugs you can fill me with. So Mr. Capable, why don’t you just run back to my apartment and get them for me? I wouldn’t mind my bathrobe and some books while you’re there. Since you’re so capable and all.”

“I simply do not feel like transversing the mortal realm and rooting through your medicine cabinet at this juncture,” he replied, mouth tightening into a thin line. Sarah quirked a smile in his direction. Her beautiful dumbo king.

“Alright well, maybe later then. If my phone isn’t dead hand it to me. I gotta call work, also possibly Dad and Karen. Something tells me vanishing off the literal face of the earth for four days didn’t go over super well on the Aboveground side of things.”

“I sent Sir Didymus to handle your affairs with a quite convincing doctor’s note about a car accident as soon as I was able,” he said waving her off. “I’ll admit I’m still … recapturing some of my abilities, otherwise I would have sent a quick memory charm their way.”

“I’ll come back to that in a second, I’ve got lots of questions about Sir Didymus handling anything Aboveground,” she said skeptically. “Actually, speaking of, how would he even get Aboveground? All the portals were down.”

“Yes speaking of indeed, how did then you get Underground?” Jareth said turning the question back on her. “The portals were down because I was down in a manner of speaking. I manage the portals to my realm along with the standard kingdom spells.”

“Which explains why the kingdom was pitch dark then,” Sarah reasoned and Jareth nodded in assent.

“Yes, in the Underground I _am_ the crown and kingdom. The kingdom spells such as the crystal moon and stars, only exist because I do. They’re as integral to myself as breathing, an activity I perform without being consciously aware of it. My magic carries the load of the whole kingdom and in the state I was in…every inch of my magic was working to repair the wound. Though really, just how did you get here?”

“Oh, well, we’ve got two people to thank for that, a small goblin named Poko had gotten trapped in my apartment and he was an invaluable resource. Remind me to check up on him in a few weeks. I think I owe him at least one bar of soap and several of my shiniest take out menus.”

“Duly noted, and the second?”

“Yeah, do you know a woman named Annie? Older, lives about ten minutes from the city bridge?”

“Ahlam? Yes, she does sometimes go by Annie. We have dinner once a year or so.”

“What?” Sarah replied, momentarily confused. “I mean, I’m not surprised you know her, she basically told me as much, I’m more surprised you’re friends. I didn’t know you had friends.”

“I’m allowed to have friends Sarah,” Jareth said with a scoff. “I’ve known Ahlam for many years now.”

“Yeah but she didn’t have the most flattering things to say about you,” Sarah replied carefully. Annie had helped her, and she wasn’t trying to get the woman bogged for her efforts.

“Such as?”

“Well…she basically implied I was an idiot for being in a relationship with you and that not only were we doomed, but that by being with you I’d kissed any future happiness away.”

“Ah,” Jareth said with a small smile. “Ahlam speaks from experience Sarah. Not with me mind you, but another of my kin took interest in her. She didn’t return it, like you she preferred to keep her distance from our ilk. Unlike you, her suitor did not have good intentions so I encouraged her to maintain that distance.”

“Was it them who gifted her the long life?” Sarah asked, wanting to know more about this mystery suitor. She was also slightly charmed by the idea of Jareth sitting down over a cup of tea to advise a girl about her love life. Something in there about the blind leading the blind she was sure.

“Stars no,” Jareth said with a laugh. “She took that for herself. I must admit I was impressed, there aren’t many humans who would know how. It took her many years of asking the right questions before she got the information she needed. Her … suitor, wasn’t pleased mind you. They never took rejection well.”

“None of you take rejection well,” Sarah said rolling her eyes. “Two years worth of you banging your fists on the table shouting ‘love me’ finally wore me down but christ your lot has zero chill.”

“Says the girl who just jumped through a portal, ran through the Labyrinth, sliced open her arm, and nearly traded her life for mine all because I didn’t call for a few days.”

“So next time call,” she replied with a shrug. “Don’t know what you expected.”

“I’m always a fool for pretty girls,” he said kissing her on the nose. “I take it that Annie’s arguments did nothing to persuade you?”

“What as evidenced by me throwing myself into the fire?” Sarah said with a sharp laugh. “Yeah a year ago? Two years? Maybe. But I’m not the same woman I was then. Just like I’m not the spoiled brat who wished away her brother. I’ve grown and changed, just like you’ve grown and changed. You’ve stopped focusing so much on winning. My love isn’t something you think of as yours to have, more like the love we have for each other is something we share. That changes and grows with us. It’s not a zero sum game anymore and, despite the occasional slip up, you’re clearly trying to treat me as your partner. Not your queen, not wife, not champion, just partner.”

“Thank you Sarah,” he said, squeezing her arm with his good hand.

“It would also be my guess,” she said with a sidelong glance in his direction. “That if you hadn’t put so much of your magic toward making me feel better and trying to reduce the toll the spell took on my body, that you’d be back to your normal self already. Or am I wrong?”

“It is of no consequence,” Jareth replied tersely. “I am exactly where I need to be.”

“You’re so full of bog I’m surprised your ears aren’t leaking it,” she said, shaking her head. “You’ve been down nearly two weeks following a surprise attack on your kingdom. Where you need to be is on your throne, showing your kingdom the enduring strength and health of yourself and the Goblin Kingdom.”

“Since when did you start paying attention to my Kingship?” Jareth asked, surprised.

“Since I realized there’s a very real chance that somewhere down the line I’m sitting next to you up there,” she said with a shrug, trying not to make too big a deal of it. “There’s a lot of reasons I don’t want to be a queen. One of them is that I don’t know how and don’t think I’d be very good at it. I can do something about that, so I am. I’ve been reading a ton of history books about the greatest kings and queens … it’s been surprisingly interesting.”

Jareth just beamed at her and Sarah groaned pushing him off her.

“No stop that,” she whined.

“Stop what? I’ve said nothing,” he replied, still beaming.

“You’ve got all hearts in your eyes and stuff. I can see you mentally doodling our names with King and Queen in front. You’re thinking about monogrammed bathrobes and what kind of crown I’ll have.”

“No certainly not,” he huffed, pulling her closer again. “I don’t expect you to wear a crown, you can have a pendant like I do, or I can work to design something a bit less intrusive. Perhaps a band around your finger…”

“No stop,” she said pointing a finger in warning. “I’m real nervous about even considering this, so you’re going to need to be careful not to frighten me off here. It goes against every grain of common sense for me to even be debating this so no talk of special queen stuff, am I clear?”

“Like a crystal my queen,” he gave her a quick peck on the lips.

“Ugh, you’re the worst,” she grumbled.

* * *

They spent the following week in his bed together. Sarah found she was too weak to do much more than bathe as every time she tried to stand for longer than 15 minutes the vertigo took her down. Jareth fared slightly better as by the third day he was able to make a brief appearance in court. He was loath to leave her for any real period of time. As if he thought the magic might try and claw a few more years without him noticing. But Sarah was absolutely insistent. However, he was still fairly weak himself, most of his magic was going towards keeping the kingdom running and healing his body. On Sarah’s advice, he closed down the portals so he wasn’t spending energy on that as well.

In the meantime they just enjoyed being able to spend a full week together relatively uninterrupted. It was neither of their ideas of a good vacation, but they’d take what they could get.

Sarah had sent Poko off with a quick note to Annie to let her know she was safe and sound and that yes, she’d swiped one of her books and yes, she’d return it as soon as she got back on her feet. Annie sent back a one line note simply calling her a thief and that the Goblin King owed her for this one and Sarah was inclined to agree. Jareth and her decided they would send her an invitation to dinner at Sarah’s place to start. Jareth had really mastered the chicken piccata.


End file.
